k1 visa joint sponsorship in manila

[journeytoYOU.S.A. 1]

Hi, Im glad to have stumbled upon this forum, Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to this, any help is greatly appreciated.

So, My girlfriend and I have recently decided to apply for a K1 visa. She is an American citizen while I am a single mom to an illegitimate child from the Philippines. We met online and have been a couple since 2012. She visited a lot over the course of two years until finally applying for dual citizenship (her parents are Filipino) and moving here to the Philippines to continue her schooling last year. Due to personal reasons, we decided that moving to the US would be the next best step for us. After lurking on the site we attempted to gather and fill out documents and decided to consult with an attorney about our chances and the process. Because she's still a student, we thought we could use her step mom as our co-sponsor but were told by the attorney that due to the high volume of applicants lately here in the philippines, all applicants using co-sponsorship wouldnt be entertained.

Naturally we were crushed but I remembered reading a similar post on here about it and a lot commented that this wasn't true but is there any follow up on that? There was also a mention of a student couple who was approved using co sponsorship, i would just like to know how recent was this? Also, just wondering, being a same sex couple would there be any discrimination against us?

We were already getting gathering all our evidence and filling out documents and were really bummed with this news.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Hi, Im glad to have stumbled upon this forum, Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to this, any help is greatly appreciated.

So, My girlfriend and I have recently decided to apply for a K1 visa. She is an American citizen while I am a single mom to an illegitimate child from the Philippines. We met online and have been a couple since 2012. She visited a lot over the course of two years until finally applying for dual citizenship (her parents are Filipino) and moving here to the Philippines to continue her schooling last year. Due to personal reasons, we decided that moving to the US would be the next best step for us. After lurking on the site we attempted to gather and fill out documents and decided to consult with an attorney about our chances and the process. Because she's still a student, we thought we could use her step mom as our co-sponsor but were told by the attorney that due to the high volume of applicants lately here in the philippines, all applicants using co-sponsorship wouldnt be entertained.

Naturally we were crushed but I remembered reading a similar post on here about it and a lot commented that this wasn't true but is there any follow up on that? There was also a mention of a student couple who was approved using co sponsorship, i would just like to know how recent was this? Also, just wondering, being a same sex couple would there be any discrimination against us?

We were already getting gathering all our evidence and filling out documents and were really bummed with this news.

Another lawyer without a clue. Jeez! Full of opinion, low on facts.

Now there are no guarantees with the K-1 visa and a co-sponsor, but co-sponsors have been accepted quite often with the K-1. Big plus is to use a close relative - her mom, that is a must with USEM and the K-1.

[journeytoYOU.S.A. 1]

Another lawyer without a clue. Jeez! Full of opinion, low on facts.

Now there are no guarantees with the K-1 visa and a co-sponsor, but co-sponsors have been accepted quite often with the K-1. Big plus is to use a close relative - her mom, that is a must with USEM and the K-1.

Thank you so much, Hank! I've read some .. mixed reviews about hiring an attorney for this etc. Would you happen to know if my mom's gross receipts are a total of 88k (meeting the poverty guidelines) but after deductions, the adjusted gross income goes down to 20k (no longer meeting the poverty guidelines) if she is still qualified?

[Hank_ 9,174]

GROSS INCOME - line 22 of the 1040 tax form.

[Tahoma 2,292]

You may not have to worry about having a cosponsor because it appears that lately the U.S. Embassy Manila has not been asking K-1ers for their petitioner's I-134, income tax returns, or W-2's.

However, it is recommended that you have those documents with you at your interview.

The U.S. Embassy Manila accepts cosponsors on a case-to-case basis. I've noticed that cosponsors generally have been accepted in cases where the petitioner is young, educated, upwardly mobile, and Pinoy, and where the cosponsor is a close family member.

I personally know a Pinay K-1 petitioner who successfully used a cosponsor despite the fact that she was a student attending nursing school, had never had a job, and had zero income. Her parent was her cosponsor. This was two or three years ago.

I personally know another young, educated Pinoy K-1 petitioner who successfully used a his parent as a cosponsor because his income did not meet 125% of the poverty level. This was five or six years ago. In his case, his fiancée received a 221g at her interview due to her petitioner not meeting the income requirements. They then submitted their cosponsor's I-864, income tax return, W2, and proof of citizenship. They were approved.

Note: Your attorney is not well informed about the K-1 process at the U.S. Embassy Manila.

Note: I have not seen the U.S. Embassy Manila discriminate against same-sex couples. There have been several approvals at that embassy.

[Hank_ 9,174]

I wouldn't push that too hard as that is very mixed as to who is asked for support evidence and who isn't. Best advice is BE PREPARED.